Undetermined
by caughtinthefire
Summary: To the Medoran eye, Alexandra Jennings is not all that she seems. Her past is brimming with secrets, ones that are not just restricted to her otherworldly origins. When war against Aven is at its peak, Alex calls upon her friends of the past, opening up the memories of what she has tried to hard to hide.
1. Chapter 1

**I apologise for the length of this fanfic in advance.**

 **SO CONFESSION TIME. THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A FREAKING ONE SHOT. 46 PAGES AND 17.4 K WORDS LATER I THINK NOT.**

 **Naturally, I do the reasonable thing and try and make it into parts. Two parts. Because of its atrocious size and my inability to wait around for somebody to read over it for me, there maybe be a few mistakes thrown in here.**

 **So. Here we go. Another Medoran versus Demigod crossover. I seriously hope you guys love it, because I love it too. And disclaimer: anything you recognise (provided you're well familiar with both TMC and PJO) is NOT mine - it either belongs to Lynette Noni or Rick Riordan.**

 **And without further ado ...**

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 **Part One**

"You know," begins Aurileous Cavelle, and with a jolt Alex realises he is addressing her. Expecting a reprimand of sorts, she is startled when she looks into his eyes — the same uniquely-coloured eyes as his daughter's — and sees only warmth. "When I suggested that you bring in reinforcements from Freya, I certainly was not expecting the children of your gods."

Alex swallows and looks down at her hands, feeling the curious gaze of every person seated around the war council table sweep expectantly to herself. A heat creeps across her cheeks; she's used to hardly ever being spared a second glance. But here, in a place where she is a Freyan and the rest of them a Medoran, she can hardly expect that sort of treatment.

"They're old friends of mine," she says finally. It's an inadequate response, but she's not yet prepared to part with the absolute truth.

;;

 _The centaur peers down at the fragile bundle of blankets that one of his demigod scouts brought in. Chiron's steady eyes take in a button nose, a head of soft mousy hair, impossibly tiny fingers that clutch to her blanket. The infant can hardly be a few months old, and yet the scout had discovered her tucked up in a carry cradle in the pocket of the woods, close to the highway; an abandoned baby._

 _"What do we do with her, Chiron?" asks the scout anxiously, a normally level-headed daughter of Apollo named Samantha. Her fingers fiddle with the shoulder strap of her quiver, absently moving a buckle up and down._

 _"What we do with every demigod that comes to this camp, Samantha." Despite the solemn expression on Chiron's face, his words are firm and authoritative. With a tenderness somebody so imposingly bulky should not have, Chiron gathers up the baby girl and turns around slowly to face the scout._

 _Nevertheless, Samantha persists. "How do we know if she's really a demigod and not some poor mortal baby who got dumped?"_

 _"It is the will of the gods for their children to be found," Chiron answered, slowly ambling through the Big House. "In particular, your father is a compassionate god. Even if this baby was not his, he would have wanted her to be safe."_

 _"But how do we look after her? The youngest kid we've ever had is four, and yet there's still a pretty wide caretaking gap there."_

 _"We will make it work, Samantha," Chiron says, his words biting with finality._

;;

About four seats away from her, Jaxon Stirling snorts disbelievingly.

"I don't trust those kids. Every single piece of research we've ever conducted shows that Freyans don't possess gifts. And yet there they were, running around with gifts more powerful than even some of Akarnae's best."

"That's because they're children of the _gods_ ," Alex as good as seethes, unable to believe his dismissive ignorance. "They _have_ to hide themselves from standard mortals, to protect themselves from monsters, rogue minor gods and just about anything that wants to kill them. They can't even use technology because monsters can be attracted to it - which is probably what you base research around."

"You know an awful lot about them," the royal advisor accuses.

Ignoring the prickle of fear that chills up her spine, Alex shrugs as casually as she muster. "Like I said, I've spent a bit of time around demigods. And anyway, that's what they would consider the basics."

;;

 _The Athena cabin insists on christening her Alexandra. Chiron chuckles, but he agrees to the Greek-originated name. A few hours later, every demigod residing at Camp Half-Blood is aware of the tiny baby demigod that was delivered to camp a week ago, now has a name._

 _Alexandra quickly drops to Alex, and she's mostly looked after by the Apollo cabin. There's more than enough of them, and after all he is the patron god for medicine. Of course, there's nobody in the Hera or Artemis cabins to care for her, and Chiron declares that she won't be getting written off to the Hunters anytime soon._

 _For the first few years of her life, the other demigods do their best to try and keep her innocence intact for as long as they can. The Demeter kids take her to the strawberry fields and the equestrian-inclined demigods escort her to the pegasi stables. When they bring in a kid all mangled from a monster attack, Alex is quickly hurried to the other side of camp. Ares kids are as good as banned from her, not that they're particularly interested in the first place. Everyone is holding their breath for the day that her godly parent finally decides to claim her, dreading that she won't be permitted to bounce cabin to cabin like she usually does._

 _That day never comes._

 _Having overheard whispers that she'll soon be transferred to the Hermes cabin, as is all protocol with all new demigods yet to be determined, Samantha and a few of her siblings squirrel her out to the woods for her first ever combat lesson. Nearing her fifth birthday, Alex is ecstatic to finally be waving around weapons like every other demigod in the camp does._

 _Her first few lessons are basic. One of the Apollo kids is actually a karate black-belt and usually works as a junior instructor when she returns to Chicago for school, so she's ideal for coaching Alex. It's hand to hand combat, starting off with martial arts whilst gradually introducing demigod fighting techniques._

 _But the lessons are crushed into a waste of time, when Chiron finds the Apollo kids, bearing the news they'd all been dreading._

;;

"Why the hell are we still talking about this?" General Drock intervenes gruffly, and Alex realises with a jolt that he's taking her side, defending her. "Why don't we just be grateful that these kids, demigods, god-offspring, whatever — helped us with that immortal bastard, and move on to a few more important issues?"

But to Alex's dismay, Osmada Cavelle leans forward. Her melodic words spill over the restless council. "Alex, how did they agree to assisting us? Did you make a deal with them?"

Alex sucks in a breath. "They didn't even ask for a deal."

"Really? Some of them behaved as if it was a case of one favour for another —" begins Advisor Stirling.

 _That's because we demigods help our own_ , Alex thinks to herself.

;;

 _There is a commotion on the magically enforced border of Camp Half-Blood._

 _ **A monster attack**_ _, thinks Alex instantly, trying to crane her neck for a better glimpse of what's going on. Whatever it is, it is increasingly gaining attention from the demigods. Hillary, whose lap Alex had been perched in for dinner, tightens her arms protectively around Alex's small form._

 _"Hill? What's going on?"_

 _Hillary smooths down Alex's hair assuringly, pushing the loose tendrils back down over her braids from earlier. "It's okay, Alex. Whatever it is, it can't get past the camp boundary and hurt us."_

 _"Is it a monster?" Alex's hand grips her small bronze pocket knife._

 _"Probably. Don't worry about —_ _ **oh my gods**_ _." Hillary is not the only one who's instantly seized with captivated horror as she looks on to a new development in the monster attack. In the distance, Alex can see monsters. More monsters than she's ever seen, all blundering after a barely visible group of four demigods. Not that Alex's experience with monsters is anything impressive — she's never gone outside Camp in her life._

 _"We have to help them!" Alex exclaims, tugging at Hillary's hold, but the older daughter of Hermes refuses to loosen her grip on her._

 _"Alex, no! Chiron will make the call."_

 _The trio is getting closer and closer to the camp border — close enough so that their profiles are thinly identifiable. Two blondes, a boy that's in his early teens and a girl who can only be Alex's age. One of the demigods is really a satyr, with his shaggy brown lower half. There is another girl, this one with short black hair and lightning spurring from the palm that isn't occupying a magnificent bronze shield._

 _A daughter of Zeus._

 _The campers are getting to their feet and hurrying towards the camp boundary, fetching bronze weapons and strapping on armour as they go. After lengthy deliberation, Hillary fastens her hold on Alex's hand before pulling her to her feet. But Alex's focus is held solely by the three demigods and the satyr fighting for their lives._

 _The campers seem to hold their breath as the younger blonde girl takes a violent fall, and without hesitation the boy scoops her up into the arms. He yells something at the daughter of Zeus, who yells back._

 _The two seem to have come to a decision, because whilst the daughter of Zeus faces the pursuing monsters, summoning her lightning and her shield, the two blondes charge forward. Directly towards the camp._

;;

"So you're saying they did this out of the goodness of their hearts?" comes the sharp words belonging to Jeera James.

"Not entirely." Alex says. She can't reveal that she is a demigod as well; hiding her heritage seals her fate, her fate in Medora. The fate she wants. "They also owed me a pretty big favour. As good as a life debt."

"How the hell did you manage that in the first place?"

A remorseful smile tugs up at the end of Alex's mouth. "It's a long story."

;;

 _Alex finds the newest addition to the Athena cabin under Thalia's tree._

 _Annabeth Chase is wearing the standard orange CHB t-shirt as well as beach shorts with a pattern of palm leaves, and the sort of scowl that would scare off most kids their age. But Alex has been around Ares kids long enough to not feel too intimidated by her._

 _Annabeth's eyes flash up and meet hers. They narrow in suspicion. Alex has the feeling that the only person Annabeth would be pleased to see is that boy who carried her in, a Hermes kid named Luke Castellan. An actual Hermes kid, not just one of the undetermined campers crammed in there like Alex is._

 _Alex pushes away the hurtful sting of still remaining undetermined, even after all these years, and drops into the dirt besides Annabeth. "Did Chiron send you?" demands the ice-queen-slash-daughter-of-Athena._

 _"He said you might want somebody to talk to."_

 _"Well, he's wrong. I don't want to talk to anyone."_

 _Alex looks down at the untied laces of her shoes. "You don't have to talk about what happened the other day. I don't want to be mean and pry. You can talk about something else. Something nice."_

 _"Like what?" Annabeth's words are so cutting Alex is surprised she isn't getting whiplash._

 _"I don't know. Like chocolate. Or books. I've never read many books, though, so I'm not the best person to talk about them to."_

 _After a long moment, Annabeth says quietly, "I love reading books."_

;;

Jeera's eyes narrow, a precise calculation entering her eyes. She could just as easily be a daughter of Athena or even one of Artemis's Hunters, if she wasn't Medoran, Alex muses to herself.

"Then how do you know them in the first place?"

Alex knows she has no choice but to lie. "Annabeth — the scary blonde girl in the silver armour — we were close friends growing up. I started noticing weird things about her as we got older, and I sort of … stumbled, into the whole demigod thing."

It's times like these that she's grateful for her willpower protecting her thoughts, even though she's not entirely sure whether it's a gift or a godly inheritance.

;;

 _"Annabeth! Alex! Stop that at once!"_

 _Still giggling guiltily, the two young girls lower their wooden practise swords and turn towards Chiron, who stands in the entrance of the arena amongst all the other pairs practising their fighting techniques. Chiron shoots a disapproving look at Luke, who was supposed to be supervising them in the first place — but he's too busy chatting up some Aphrodite girl._

 _"Yeah, Chiron?" calls Alex, trying to appear innocent._

 _"You know exactly what you did," Chiron says, trying to appear stern but failing to conceal his own amusement. "Please, girls, do_ _ **not**_ _pull that stunt again — especially in Capture the Flag!"_

 _Alex and Annabeth share another look, before once again dissolving helplessly into wicked laughter. Behind Chiron, Luke is shaking his head and rolling his eyes, all the while smiling broadly._

;;

 _"Do you think your godly parent will ever claim you?" Annabeth asks one afternoon when they're harvesting strawberries together._

 _Alex looks up sharply from her basket, beads of sweat collecting her forehead thanks to the unrelenting sunlight from above. She holds the blonde's gaze for a long moment, before biting her lip and ducking her head back down again._

 _"I … I don't know."_

 _"But you've been here for nine years, Alex," says Annabeth earnestly. "_ _ **Nine**_ _. Surely your parent would've gotten their act together by now, wouldn't they?"_

 _"Maybe they're not an Olympian, so they don't have a cabin here."_

 _"Well, too bad! We could use one that's never used. Like Hera's or Poseidon's." But then what Alex calls 'an Athenian lightbulb' sparks in Annabeth's eyes and the blonde suddenly straightens. "I know! We could ask Chiron to built cabins for kids of all the minor gods!"_

 _"But there's so many of those, Annabeth."_

 _"Not all of them. Just the main-minor gods, like Nemesis and Hecate. Surely your godly parent would be one of those." Annabeth scrambles to her feet in triumph. "I'm going to go tell Chiron about this right away!"_

 _"Annabeth, wait!" Alex follows her, half laughing and half not._

;;

"The blonde girl?" Nisha James sends a frown in Alex's direction. "I had the impression you pair weren't on the … best terms."

Alex looks down at her hands, allowing her hair to fall over her face and provide a curtain she can hide behind. She's especially glad that nobody else in the room can see the bittersweet smile that crosses her face. "A lot changed since then."

;;

 _"So," Alex says, leaning against the stall of the pegasus that Annabeth is grooming. "What do you think of that new Poseidon kid, huh?"_

 _"You are so lucky you don't have to tutor him," huffs Annabeth, her stormy grey eyes narrowing in displeasure. "He's just so — ugh! He's just so obnoxious! And he's a son of Poseidon!" She throws up her hands in frustration._

 _Alex laughs. "He can't be that bad."_

 _"Yes, but you refuse to see anything but the best in anyone." Annabeth says, giving Alex a fond smile. "And anyway, have you even spoken to him yet?"_

 _"Not much. Luke's finally teaching me to fight with double blades, remember?"_

 _At the mention of her friend, Annabeth's face softens and lights up. "Yes! He told me how much you're improving!"_

 _"Really?" Alex leans forward, unable to believe it. Luke Castellan really said that about her?_

 _"You really are!" Annabeth begins to laugh. "And about time, too. You don't deserve for me to be the only one around here who appreciates you."_

;;

Alex clears her throat and looks up again. "Alright, are you lot finally going to ask me something relevant to the demigods, or what?"

"This _is_ relevant," Advisor Stirling mutters unpleasantly under his breath. Alex has half a mind to bring Nico di Angelo into the room when the royal advisor is letting loose one of his homophobic rants, and let the advisor know exactly just how much these demigods are not to be dismissed.

Alex snorts incredulously. "How is any of what you've asked so far _relevant_?"

"We're making insights into their loyalty."

Internally, Alex feels her face fall. _You really shouldn't be doing that, when they have a better track record than me._

;;

 _There is an ever so slight disturbance in the Hermes cabin, a few days after Annabeth leaves camp for her very first quest with Grover the satyr and Percy the Poseidon kid. Alex awakes in her bunk to faintly see a few figures shifting through the darkness._

 _She squints, finally placing a shadowy face to their identity. "Luke? What are you doing?"_

 _"We have somewhere to be, Alex." Luke whispers, stopping in his tracks and looking down at her. "And I have the feeling it's the sort of thing you should come along with us for."_

 _A thrilled curiosity merges with the apprehension settling in Alex's stomach. "What? Where are you going?"_

 _"Pack your things, kiddo," whispers another voice. Olivia Phelps. Another undetermined camper that's been in this cabin for years. Not as long as her — but nobody's been undetermined for as long as Alex has. "Come outside and Luke can try and recruit you."_

 _"Recruit me?" Alex repeats._

 _"Just get moving," Luke urges gently, but there is impatience in his eyes._

 _For somebody who has lived at camp all her life, Alex's possessions fit neatly inside a backpack. Could probably even inside a shoebox. She tiptoes past her slumbering cabin mates, out into the brisk night with Luke and the other kids assembled with them — every last one of them, kids who have been unclaimed by their godly parents for an unreasonable period of time._

 _"Luke?" Alex asks uncertainly._

 _Luke releases a heavy breath, before looking at her directly in the eyes. "As senior counsellor of the Hermes cabin, I've noticed there's a lot of kids whose godly parents have never bothered to claim them. Chiron and Mr. D aren't listening to what I try to tell them, so I've decided to take matters into our own hands. We're going to find a way to hold the gods responsible for what they've done."_

 _By the time he's finished, Alex is staring up at him with wide, uncertain eyes. She's never heard anything like this before. Noticed it, yes, but heard actual assemblies for it? Never. It's almost some kind of conspiracy theory, the ones that Athena kids love to share around the campfire to screw with everyone. It seems almost like … treason._

 _But another part of Alex aches for what Luke is saying. Twelve years. She's spent twelve years here, practically her whole life tucked away at camp, and her godly parent hasn't claimed her at all. If they were an Olympian, then they would have had plenty of opportunities. But instead Alex has witnessed over a hundred other kids being Claimed, and not a single one of them was her. Some nights she had looked up at the ceiling, thinking,_ _ **Who are they, and why haven't they claimed me yet?**_

 _"Make up your mind, Alex," Luke says gently. "Are you staying here, or coming with us?"_

 _Alex nods determinedly. "I'm coming with you."_

;;

Instead, her words biting and sharp, Alex keeps her head held high and says, "If you can trust me, then you can trust them."

Well, that rules out the advisor. Not that that's a big loss. She flicks back her unbound mane of hair — a habit she developed from hanging around a particular daughter of Aphrodite for a little too long — and continues calmly, "Before I asked them to come to Medora, they were already familiar with the sort of war that can end the world. Some of them have even been in two of those kind of wars."

"Two?" repeats Queen Osmada, looking both horrified and sceptical.

"Two," Alex confirms. "That's Annabeth — scary blonde — and Percy — sea kid." _And me_. "The rest of them either made their way into the demigod world after the first war but before the second, or they're Roman."

"Roman?" General Drock thumps his fist on the table. "Kid, you gotta remember we're Medoran here. You gotta rewind a bit."

;;

 _On Luke's boat, Percy's eyes meet hers._

 _They widen in disbelief, his mouth forming her name soundlessly. Alex shrinks back between Olivia and Ethan, gripping the handles of the twin bronze blades Luke gifted her for assurance. Underneath her touch, the leather is cool and smooth, punctuated by the chilled round pins stamping down the leather onto the actual handle._

 _Alex tries to breathe, but she can't. In Percy's eyes, she is a traitor._

 _But in Luke's, she is a revolutionist. A warrior fighting for justice. Alex's jaw sets. Luke is right and Percy is wrong. The gods need to be held to justice. The son of Poseidon won't ever understand — he was claimed within days of his arrival at Camp Half-Blood._

 _But then Annabeth's gaze drops to her, and the blonde turns to stone. She stares at Alex with a horror that Alex would have thought she couldn't possess. It's an expression Alex has never seen before, but somehow immediately understands. It's the face of somebody who's just been betrayed._

 _The realisation slams Alex in the guts. Annabeth thinks she betrayed her._

;;

Alex clears her throat. "Demigods can come from any of the Freyan ancient mythologies — Greek, Roman, Aztec, Hindu, indigenous tribes, Egyptian — Annabeth even has a cousin who's a Norse demigod. But the ones we've got here are Greek and Roman. They were unified pretty recently — they'd hated each other for centuries, but it was the second war that got them together."

Feeling as if she's a bit too knowledgeable for somebody who's not actually a demigod, Alex moves onto the demigods themselves. "The sea kid, Percy Jackson, he's easily the most powerful of the group. His dad is the Greek god Poseidon, who rules over the sea, earthquakes, horses and probably something else. Poseidon is what they call one of the Big Three — one of the foremost gods."

"Do you have any other 'Big Three' demigods?" asks Nisha James, rather warily.

"I'm getting there," Alex says. "Jason Grace — the tall blonde dude who can fly — his dad is Jupiter, who's the Roman king of the gods. His Greek counterpart is the same — so he bosses over Olympus as well as the sky, thus Jason's affinity with flight and lightning and the like. Nico di Angelo — that little gothic kid —"

At this, Alex sees fear slice through the eyes of a few people in the room, and hides a smile to herself before continuing. "— his father is Hades, the Greek god of the Underworld — as in, death, the afterlife, et cetera. You probably would have seen Nico running around, raising the dead."

"You say that so _casually_ ," Jeera mutters under her breath.

"What about this Annabeth girl?" asks King Aurileous rather sharply, his eyes having narrowed ever so slightly.

;;

 _Tears well in Alex's eyes, but she refuses to let Luke see them. Drawing in a shaking breath, she tightens her grip on her short sword — one of the twin blades that was her present from Luke for joining his cause — and bounds forward towards the shrieking demigod._

 _The son of Demeter, oh so identifiable with his earthy brown hair and forest green eyes, as well as the feeble vines he's desperately summoning to try and save him, has yet to reach camp. Alex knows him — she's known Tyler for years, having delivered basket after basket of ripe strawberries to him._

 _"Kill him!" thunders Luke from behind her._

 _"Tyler," Alex says softly. "I'm really, really sorry."_

 _Tyler's green eyes widen. "Everyone thought you were_ _ **dead**_ _," he pants out. "Chiron had campers searching for you for days. And all along, you were really helping Luke, betraying us?"_

 _"I haven't betrayed anyone," Alex insists. "You don't understand, Ty. Luke's doing this for all the kids that never got claimed. I'm one of them, you know that! Imagine spending your whole_ _ **life**_ _at camp and never knowing who your parent is!"_

 _"He's manipulated you, Alex!"_

 _"Enough!" roars Luke, shouldering forwards and pushing Alex aside. In the blink of an eye, he's drawn his sword — and deftly send a neat red line over Tyler's neck. Alex watches on in nauseated horror as the son of Demeter chokes on his own blood, the contents of his neck emptying down in a shower of gushing scarlet._

 _Then just before the light fades from his eyes, Tyler looks at Alex and whispers, "Annabeth wouldn't want this."_

;;

"She's a daughter of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and battle strategy," Alex says evenly, but her throat feels like sandpaper. "Annabeth is who we call the Athenian Champion. A couple of months ago, she managed to recover a sacred statue that the Romans had stolen from the Greeks millennia ago. Recovering that statue meant unifying the two demigod sides."

Seeing further questions in everyone's eyes, Alex clears her throat and hurriedly continues. "Leo Valdez. The short impish kid with the tool belt and curly hair. He's Greek too — a son of Hephaestus, lord of the forges. As in, blacksmiths. Despite that he's a flirt and messes around, he's crazy smart — not as smart as Annabeth, but smarter than the rest of them. He also can control fire, like elementally gifted Medorans."

"How are we supposed to judge _that_?" Jaxon Stirling grumbles.

Alex ignores him and continues. She just wants this over and down with. "Piper McLean's the coloured girl with feathers braided into her hair. She's what we call Cherokee — so, she's from one of the indigenous tribes in North America. Her godly side of DNA is Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty. She has charmspeak — that's basically the gift of charm, only hers is stronger and depends more on physical attraction."

"You've mentioned a lot of Greeks," muses Nisha. "What about the Romans?"

;;

 _"I don't understand, Livvy," Alex cries, sobbing in the shoulder of Olivia Phelps. "We're just supposed to be helping all the undetermined demigods, aren't we? Why is Luke bringing along so many monsters and not killing them?"_

 _Olivia smooths over Alex's hair comfortingly, just like Hillary used to, holding the younger girl close. The older demigod gnaws thoughtfully on her bottom lip for a long moment before answering. "Luke lied to most of us, to get us to tag along. He obviously had a different agenda to what we thought he did."_

 _"But why?" Alex hiccups. "Why would he lie to us?"_

 _"Keep the noise down before somebody hears you, kiddo," Olivia urges. "You know what happened to the last demigod that tried to go back to camp, don't you?"_

 _Alex's eyes widen as she recalls the grisly memories of what Luke did to that poor demigod._

;;

"Well, there's Jason," Alex explains, almost breathily. "Then there's Hazel Levesque. Her dad, Pluto, is the Roman equivalent of Nico's, so they're technically siblings. But Hazel had affinity with riches — precious metals and gemstones — as well as the under _ground_. And the last one is Frank Zhang — he's the official leader of the Roman camp, the praetor. He's the son of Mars, the Roman god of war —"

"I figured it was something like that," Jeera mutters under her breath.

"— and he's also a descendant of Poseidon, which allows him to shape-shift."

The room blinks at this final segment. Medoran gifted DNA clearly doesn't get that messy. Alex could have sworn Drock mutters something under his breath that rhymes with _what the actual duck_.

;;

 _Camp Half-Blood is bracing for the battle rapidly advancing on them, when one of Luke's demigods staggers in through the protective border._

 _Despite that she's a few years older than the last time anyone set eyes on her, there's no mistaking Alex. She's matured a bit — but her shiny chestnut hair, rich brown eyes and distinctive features nevertheless mark her as the one of the demigods that Luke tricked into joining his cause._

 _Even more evidently, Alex has been badly wounded. Most of her wounds were from slipping past Luke's monsters as she made her escape back to camp, but there's a gash on her head thanks to Clarisse La Rue being the one to find her. Naturally, the daughter of Ares had knocked her clean out._

 _After forcing some nectar down her throat, Alex comes to, her eyes wild and frantic as they settle on Chiron, and she promptly bursts into tears. The Apollo kids hovering around share a look — in all the years Alex spent at camp, very few people ever saw her cry. And yet there she was, sobbing hysterically and blubbering out a plethora of apologies._

 _"I'm so sorry, I only just got away — but I'd wanted to for ages, ever since Luke killed Tyler. I thought I was doing the right thing, helping all those kids that never get determined, but Luke never actually did that and anyway I was wrong! I'm so sorry!"_

 _Instead of yelling at her, Chiron regards her with the fondness of a grandfather, and commands the Apollo kids to patch her up._

;;

"Is that all you need to know?" Alex demands, gripping the arms of her chair. When nobody offers protests, she continues, "Good. If you haven't noticed, as powerful as these demigods are, none of them can exactly return to Freya. They need an escort before they do something stupid to themselves."

"Same goes for you, Alex," Nisha says quietly, and Alex can't help but stifle a laugh as she gets to her feet and moves swiftly from the room.

;;

 _As soon as Annabeth sets eyes on her, she knocks Alex to the ground._

 _"What are you_ _ **doing**_ _here?" The daughter of Athena screeches, pinning down Alex thanks to a surge of adrenaline that her rage had sent blasting through her system. "You are a_ _ **traitor**_ _! You shouldn't be allowed anywhere near this camp! You sided with the guy who's now in the league with Kronos!"_

 _Before Alex can respond, her face flares up in pain as Annabeth's knuckles make contact with Alex's jaw. But instead she forces aside the instinct to fight back, resigning herself to the beating and bracing herself for the next blow. After all, she deserves it._

 _"I'm sorry!" The cry tears from Alex's throat after a few more hits, when she's not sure she can take it anymore. "I'm sorry, I was wrong!"_

 _"Damn right you were!" Annabeth yells back._

 _Alex watches as the blonde draws back her fist yet again — only to be stunned when somebody seizes Annabeth by the waist and hoists her up into the air, dragging her away from Alex. Alex isn't sure whether to be surprised or not when she sees that her rescuer is a certain son of Poseidon._

 _Percy's sea-green eyes lock coolly onto hers. "I take it that you're back."_

 _"I'm sorry," Alex repeats for what feels like the millionth time._

 _Despite that Annabeth is still clawing and thrashing madly in his hold, Percy's gaze seems to soften, ever so slightly. "Luke's poisoned us all. It's not fair to blame you for what he's done."_

;;

Alex locates the demigods showing off their powers to a crowd of besotted Medorans.

Having heard her approaching footfalls, both Annabeth and Piper turns with resigned expressions. "I give up," declares the daughter of Aphrodite, gesturing to their respective boyfriends. It appears Jason and Percy are locked in some kind of storm-powers-versus-sea-powers duel, which is utterly captivating their audience.

"Unbelievable," Alex sighs sympathetically. "It's not like Medorans haven't seen powers before."

"Aren't they called 'gifts' here?" Annabeth interjects.

"Yup," says Alex, running a swift gaze over the gathered crowds and feeling her muscles freeze when she spots a flock of familiar faces — the Epsilon Combat boys, Karter, Hunter and Finn. Evidently, they were all brought in to assist the military in Aven's downfall.

She swallows thickly, wondering how long she has before somebody puts two and two together.

;;

 _A good six months or so have passed since the Battle of the Labyrinth, and gradually, oh so gradually, Annabeth has begun to forgive Alex. This assumption is proved when Alex finds herself sitting cross-legged on the floor of the Athena cabin, assisting Annabeth with endless drafts of war strategies._

 _But instead of discussing the potential battles ahead, Annabeth is ranting furiously about a certain son of Poseidon._

 _"He's absolutely unbelievable," Annabeth declares disdainfully. "Honestly. We're about to enter a war with_ _ **Kronos**_ _, and yet he's still messing around with that stupid carrot-headed mortal?"_

 _"He's male, Annabeth. You shouldn't exactly have high expectations."_

 _Annabeth laughs reluctantly, before her eyes flash up to meet Alex's. Suddenly her face becomes sadder. "You know how I feel about him, Alex. What if I was wrong about him reciprocating my feelings, and he's just messing around with a girl whilst he's still alive?"_

 _"Hey," Alex says sharply. "Percy's not going to die, and I can assure you, that guy is practically drooling whenever you walk into the room. He's just too thickheaded to see it."_

 _"Theoretically speaking —"_

 _"Oh, don't go all intellectual on me. You know I just blank out when you do that."_

;;

 _"ANNABETH!"_

 _Despite the haze of severe blood loss, the daughter of Athena shifts her head at the sudden shriek that cleaves through the air. Having been one of the kids fending off the monsters from the building that all of the injured kids and the Apollo medics have taken refuge in, Alex appears out of nowhere, her twin blades still crusted with monster ichor._

 _"Calm down, you moron," Annabeth mutters. "It's only a scratch."_

 _"Gods, you're worst than me. 'Only a scratch', my ass." The blonde has to crack a smile at this — Alex has a reputation at camp for visiting the infirmary on a record amount of times, and it's not just because she's been there for almost her entire life._

 _"Where's Seaweed Brain?"_

 _"Percy? Oh, who knows. Hopefully putting an end to all of this. Here, let's get some nectar into you." Before Annabeth or a medic can even protest, Alex has swiped a nearby flask of the stuff. She unscrews the cap before taking Annabeth's chin in her own palm and lowering the bronze flask to her mouth. "Bottoms up, Chase."_

 _"You know," Annabeth says once she's drained half the flask, smacking her lips thoughtfully. "You don't even have a surname."_

 _"Seriously, Annabeth? There's literally a battle going on around us, you've been stabbed — and you're thinking about my lack of a surname?" Alex shakes her head as she takes a swig of the ambrosia herself, and the taste of Katie Gardner's strawberry-chocolate shakes slide down her throat. "You've gone delirious, which really isn't a good thing. Seaweed Brain's gonna need you to get him out of trouble at some point."_

;;

Somewhere in the crowd, amongst his classmates and instructors, the gaze belonging to Kaiden James settles on her.

When she first saw him, Alex had mistaken him as a son of Zeus, with those striking features and stunning blue eyes. But Kaiden's hair colour is more of a dark mahogany, not the standard pitch-black (Jason's a special case). Then she got to know him, and had secretly mused how he could have just as easily been a son of Apollo, with his easygoing nature and skill with both first aid and a bow.

Alex swallows thickly, and looks away, hoping the Combat boys don't try anything like — gods, calling out to her. Especially when she can't trust Leo to keep his mouth shut about her own heritage.

The quiet, steady presence of Hazel Levesque appears near Alex, and she swivels her gaze to meet the Roman's curious eyes. "What's up, Hazel?"

Hazel flicks a discreet look towards the audience — specifically, the people Alex knows in the audience. "Are you going to tell them?"

;;

 _"Chase! You won't believe this!"_

 _Alex all but barges into the pristine silvery cabin that houses the Athena kids, blinking in surprise when Annabeth practically crashes to the ground in her mad scramble out of Percy's lap. "Were you pair making out? Geez. Sure that Athena's not going to vaporise Perce on the spot for defiling her precious daughter?"_

 _The brunette sniggers shamelessly at the death stare Annabeth sends her — it would be a lot more convincing if the blonde and the son of Poseidon weren't so dishevelled from their little session, with messy hair, crumpled clothes, swollen lips and bright red faces. Lucky for the new couple, the cabin is otherwise vacant. Seeing this, Alex takes a seat in Malcolm's wheeled office chair._

 _"What were you going to tell us, Alex?" asks Percy, getting to his feet and looking very uncomfortable._

 _"Your fly's undone," Alex points out idly. It's really not, but her comment is well worth it to witness the look on Percy's face as he immediately checks his jeans. She's really been residing in the Hermes cabin for far too long. Then her face once again floods with her former ecstasy, and she turns to Annabeth with newfound, thrilled energy._

 _"Chiron finally gave me a quest!"_

 _"What?!" Annabeth replies, her voice pitching to a joyful shriek. "Gods, that's brilliant! Even though you're still undetermined?"_

 _Alex's smile hardens for a brief moment before it loosens into a much more genuine one again. "Yeah. Fingers crossed that that happens once all the minor gods' cabins are introduced. But a quest! I mean, it's completely unexpected, but still, amazing!"_

 _"What's the quest? Did you get a prophecy or something?" Percy asks, finally ambling up onto his feet._

 _Alex pulls a face. "Ha-ha, I wish. No, it's rather bizarre."_

 _"Tell us, you idiot," urges Annabeth._

 _"Well, apparently they've been detecting some sort of power at some boarding school in Oregon, that's neither demigod-ly or monster." Alex explains. "Since we've got no satyrs to spare, because the good ones are all already stationed across the US and all the not-as-good ones are here helping build the new cabins, Chiron figured it wouldn't hurt to send me — just me — after all, I'm pretty sure I'm not overly powerful to attract lots of monsters, and I'm one of the best fighters."_

 _"That sounds brilliant, Alex," says Annabeth, beaming at her friend. "You have to tell me_ _ **everything**_ _once you get back from your quest."_

;;

Alex gives a minute shake of her head.

Hazel's eyes flash with surprise. "Any of them? Not even those friends of yours?"

She goes quiet as the faces of her dearest friends flash across her mind. Of course, they were never able to replace what bond she shared with Annabeth — but then again, that bond had never been the same after she was a lackey for Luke. Jordan and D.C. and Bear know next to nothing about her past, and her chest aches.

She doesn't think they ever will.

;;

 _"What_ _ **is**_ _this place?" Alex mutters incredulously, picking herself up from the forest floor and taking in her surroundings. One moment she had been walking into the headmaster's office at the International Exchange Academy — the next, through a dizzying overload of light and wind, she's ended up in the heart of a quiet, almost ethereal forest._

 _It's quite unlike anything else she's ever experienced for herself (that isn't much, her life experiences so far have been pretty limited), nor is it something she's ever studied or heard of (that's a lot more impressive, considering she's the child of some mythological god). Mortals don't have access to magic, and this isn't the work of a wood nymph or some other spirit. It could be Hecate's work — but then again, why could Hecate be possibly interested in her, of all people?_

 _ **Think, Alex, think**_ _, she chides herself. What would Annabeth do?_

 _Instinctively, Alex's hands slide for her Celestial bronze twin blades — only for her palms to pass over a weapons belt that doesn't even hold a pocket knife. Her eyes widen. She searches frantically for her weapons, both on her body and across the forest floor, when a voice like poisoned honey slides over her._

 _"That was quite the entrance."_

;;

Then Jason conveniently decides it's time to pass out, having evidently sapped his energy. Alex can't blame him. He _has_ just fought a battle against immortals and then showed off to a bunch of Medorans. She can give him leeway for the former, but not the latter.

"Aw, Styx," grumbles Piper, striding over to Jason and hunching over his unconscious form. Alex notices that the crowd is muttering disappointedly and eyeing them curiously, evidently interested in knowing what demigods do when one of them has had his lights go out.

"See?" Percy proclaims. "Yet another example of why sea powers are better than storm powers!"

"Not the time, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth tells him, and he mumbles an apology to his girlfriend. Alex hides a laugh behind her palm, before calling out to the scattered demigods, "Anyone got any spare nectar or ambrosia?"

Most of them empty out their pockets and inspect the hidey-holes of their armour and mutter affirmations that they 'got nothin' — Leo accidentally sends out a clattering spill of bronze nuts and bolts when he checks his. And then, Frank asks, all too innocently, "What about you, Alex?"

;;

 _Even after years and years of intense demigod training, Alex finds herself absolutely wrecked following her first day at Akarnae Academy. Despite her weary body, her mind feels like it's just had a dose of dillyberry juice — fizzling with all sorts of ideas, wondering exactly how she can possibly get back to earth before it becomes evident back home that she's gone MIA._

 _Then Jordan and Bear, the same guys who encountered her out in the forest after that creep Aven, interrupt her train of thoughts as they take the seats either side of her in the food court. Despite knowing that she's surrounded by mortals — granted, they have those supernatural gifts, but Alex is fairly certain nobody in here is part-god — Alex can't help but think how Jordan would be an excellent son of Hermes, with his mischievous, loveable personality, and Bear a son of Athena with his sharp wit and honed intelligence._

 _"Did you really knock Declan Stirling unconscious?" Jordan whispers to her as food appears in front of him from their uber-advanced menus. Alex wrinkles her nose at the smell of fried food; growing up at camp, with all of their healthy food, nuggets and fries and the like were off the table. She's had McDonalds about once in her life._

 _Then she considers his question. Declan who? Surely Jordan was talking about her first class in Epsilon Combat. Her opponent had reminded her of Beckendorf, only he behaved like any typical Ares kid. He'd certainly been as condescending as an Ares kid. Not that Declan had been openly condescending — she'd seen it in his eyes, mistaking her being a girl, as well as one that was a lot shorter and smaller than him, as a mark of weakness._

 _"Who told you that?"_

 _"Just about everyone." Bear's thoughtful brown eyes meet hers. "Not that it's bad, Alex. Some of those guys can probably afford to be taken down a peg or two. But still — it's unheard of."_

 _"What? A chick taking down one of your alpha fighters?" Alex takes a bite of brisket. The brisket here doesn't taste as good as the stuff at camp, but she had been craving comfort food._

 _"Well, there hasn't been a female in Ep. Combat in years —" begins Jordan._

 _"Not years. Kaiden James's sister used to be in it," Bear reminds him._

 _"Who?" Alex asks._

 _"One of your new Combat classmates," Jordan explains, gesturing towards a group of guys that can only be a year or two older than them. Alex follows the blond's gaze to a guy she recognises from her said class: tall and tan, with an athletic, muscular physique. He reminds her of Percy, with his build, complexion and striking features, only with dark mahogany hair and eyes so blue she can see them even from her distance. And just like Percy, this guy is also unreasonably attractive._

 _"Zeus kid?" she says without thinking._

 _Bear and Jordan blink at her. After a long moment, Bear asks, "Freyan reference?"_

 _"What? Oh. Yeah, it is."_

;;

"Aw, come on, Frank. What use do I have for it?"

Her demigod pals blink for a second, before all falling in seamlessly with her deceit. Well, almost all of them. Hazel has to send Leo a pointed glare, who pales visibly before schooling his face into something a lot more convincing.

"Oh, yes. True that." Frank's voice has raised half an octave.

Percy turns towards their audience apologetically. "Sorry, folks. Show's over!"

"What would Chiron think?" Annabeth scolds him.

"Relax, Wise Girl," he tells her, reaching out to rub her shoulder soothingly. "They're not like _our_ mortals. I'm sure Chiron will understand."

"Wait," yells somebody from the disintegrating audience. "You're not mortal?"

;;

 _"Tell us about Freya," Jordan prompts._

 _Alex blinks, his question completely taking her by surprise, quickly surveying their surroundings for any unwanted ears. But they've skivved off from everyone else gathering around the lake; having chosen to scramble up a sunny boulder to talk and devour the snacks Bear brought along._

 _Both Bear and Jordan are looking at her with curious, yet impatient expressions. It's clearly something they've been itching to ask for a while now._

 _"I've already told you about Freya."_

 _"Well, all the … standard stuff." Jordan begins._

 _"Like you were reciting some kind of orientational film," is Bear's input. "What we're curious about is … well,_ _ **your**_ _Freya. Your childhood. Your family. What you did. Exactly how you wound up here in Medora."_

 _Alex is aware that her muscles have stiffened. Any minute the ADHD will be kicking back in. The boys are aware she's dyslexic, after Bear noticed her squinting down at her textbooks in frustration, but the ADHD's been a little easier to conceal. It helps that Jordan can be just as fidgety._

 _She smiles, but there is a wane tension behind it. "My upbringing wasn't particularly glamorous."_

 _"We don't care," Jordan says._

 _"It'd still be fascinating," Bear adds._

 _She can't say she's a daughter of a Greek god. Surely not. They'd think by this point, she's making things up. And Alex has never been much of a fibber._

;;

To the side of the group, Nico di Angelo chuckles darkly.

"Of course not. Alex, do they have deities here? Wait, of course they do — you were almost eaten by that jungle one." The son of Hades grins at this. The Medorans are getting increasingly creeped out by the sinister little goth kid who can summon obedient skeleton soldiers with the same ease that any of them could break into a run.

"Get on with it," comes the same obnoxious voice. Alex suspects it belongs to her psychotic PE teacher, and wonders if he was wielding that zappy stick of his in the battle. Then an equally terrifying thought crosses her mind: Finn, meeting Coach Hedge.

She visibly shudders. Holy gods.

"Basically," cuts in Leo loudly. "Our deities back home are complete pains in the ass — hey, it's so nice to say that without Zeus grumbling up above! —"

"Gods, who let Leo do this," Piper mutters, still crouched over Jason's unconscious form.

"— Because even though most of them are married to other immortals, they take a fancy to mortals quite often. And when gods take a fancy — ta-da! Out we pop!"

"Or, in Annabeth's case, out we _think_."

" _Seaweed Brain_." Annabeth spears her boyfriend with a glare that is more than enough warning.

;;

 _"O, Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering," recites Alex, hesitating, before she tosses one of her limited drachmas into the feeble little rainbow she's managed to knock together. "Show me Annabeth Chase, of Half-Blood Hill."_

 _She stands there for a long moment — after all, she's pretty sure the gods have next to no reign in the Medoran world — holding her breath and wondering if she just wasted a drachma on nothing. One long minute passes. Then two. Just as Alex is considering knocking down the spray to distinguish the rainbow — before her eyes, the Mist shimmers._

 _Alex's mouth parts in a silent, awed gasp. Firstly at that Iris really did open a message for her, and secondly at what she's seeing._

 _Cradled on the grass on Camp Half-Blood is a writhing mess of what can only be — construction work. Hephaestus kids are slamming madly away at Celestial bronze in a newly established forge. Athena kids are running around with blueprints, bossing everyone around. Satyrs and nymphs are helping cart around the supplies and equipment. Kids from every cabin, even the Ares campers, are all pitching in to help._

 _And standing less than a metre away from Alex's portal, is a very familiar ponytail of curly blonde hair._

 _"Hey, Annabeth."_

 _The blonde turns swiftly at the sound of her name, and as soon as she sets eyes on Alex, she promptly drops the blueprint she was holding. Her stormy eyes widen in shock. Her mouth opens and closes like a goldfish. Alex is almost certain that tears are filling her eyes._

 _"Oh my gods, we thought you were dead!"_

 _"I must have a knack for that sort of thing," Alex responds weakly._

 _"You stupid idiot! Get back to camp so I can hug you!"_

 _Noting that Annabeth's reaction is a lot more … emotional than Alex was predicting, the brunette asks carefully, "Chase, what's going on behind you?"_

 _"Oh — oh, you know, casually building a flying ship at camp."_

 _"What?!" exclaims Alex, squinting to try and get a better look. Now that she knows what it is — yup, she can see it now, the skeletal beginnings of what will surely be a majestic sailing ship. "Why are you building a ship?"_

 _"It's a long story. Gods, Alex, so much has happened since you left camp."_

 _"Yeah? Like what?"_

 _Annabeth's face becomes grave, but her eyes are sad. "Percy went missing."_

 _"What?!" repeats Alex._

 _"Yeah," sniffles Annabeth. "Crazy, right? It would have been — oh, three months after Kronos, so about a month and a bit after you. I've been worried sick about the pair of you, and now this mess with the Romans and Olympus going silent —"_

 _"Hold your horses, Chase! Explain. Now."_

 _"Oh, it can wait. What I want to know is where you've disappeared off to," Annabeth says, planting her hands on her hips and giving Alex a very stern look._

 _"Um." Alex hesitates. "Another world?"_

 _"Ha-ha, Alex, nice one. Next you'll be telling me that Clarisse is actually a daughter of Aphrodite."_

 _"I'm serious, Annabeth. I swear on the River Styx, I'm in another world."_

 _Annabeth's eyes widen at the use of the sacred oath, and the sarcastic expression drops from her face. "Gods, Alex, are you absolutely sure? How did you even end up there?"_

 _"Well," begins Alex. "It started when I arrived at that Oregon academy that Chiron sent me to."_

 **\**

 **\**

 **\**

 **Well. Holy moly. We're halfway through. *screams***

 **Go ahead and drop a review guys. Be as brutal as you want, I'm interested in what you guys have to think about this**


	2. Chapter 2

**I return. *cue dramatic entrance, smoke machine, cape and all***

 **Disclaimer: Anything you recognise, isn't mine. (Considering some of the content in this chapter, it should be pretty easy to identify what stuff I've come up with)**

 **/**

 **/**

 **/**

"ANYWAY," declares Frank loudly. "It's time for us to go home —"

"Zhang! Shut up! This place is totally awesome!"

"What, because people here actually think that you're cool, Leo?" Alex asks the impish son of Hephaestus. He gapes at her as if she has delivered the most insulting thing he has ever heard.

"Alex, that is the _rudest_ thing I have ever heard!" Leo exclaims theatrically.

This immediately prompts Piper to say something even more insulting at him — only she says it in Greek, so the Medorans are utterly mystified and the demigods crack up immediately.

Seeing Kaiden's critical eyes fixated on her, Alex falls silent immediately.

;;

 _The morning after her skirmish with Marcus Sparker and that creep Gerald at Chateau Shontelle, Alex finds herself standing in that strange little cavern, arguing heatedly with the Library._

 _"I don't belong here. You have to let me go back to Freya!"_

 _ **Your destiny lies here, Alexandra.**_

 _"Well, destinies can change! I learned that as a demigod — and that's exactly what I am. Not a Medoran. Not an Akarnae student. I'm a demigod."_

 _ **Why can't you be all of those things?**_

 _Alex makes a frustrated sound at the back of her throat. "Because I don't want to be! My people are in danger, I know it! I have to go back to help them!"_

 _ **Your time assisting the demigods will come. But for now, your duty is to protect the peoples of Medora.**_

 _"Duty?!" splutters Alex indignantly. "What duty?! Let me back to Freya!"_

 _ **If you return to Freya, you shall never learn of your parentage. But if you remain here, you will receive the thing you have always desired.**_

 _Alex's eyes widen, and suddenly she doesn't seem quite as defiant. The promise of learning who her parents are — the information she's craved all her life, the weakness that Luke used to exploit and manipulate her — has seized her attention. "You — you know who my parents are?"_

 _ **Very much so.**_

 _"Tell me!" Alex yells, desperation edging her voice. "Please, Library, tell me!"_

 _But the Library has gone silent._

;;

 _"Everything okay, Alex?"_

 _Despite that they're currently attacking each other with heavy wooden staffs, there is a concerned look on her opponent's face. Secretly, Kaiden James is probably her favourite out of the Combat boys — he's quiet, so he doesn't get on her nerves like some of her more obnoxious classmates. He's never been condescending or sexist to her. He possesses the sort of observance that makes you a little wary of him, but apart from that, she doesn't mind him in the slightest._

 _Alex sends him a frown, which catches his attention. She uses his distraction perfectly, slamming her staff into his ribs so she winds him. "Why wouldn't I be?"_

 _"You're off your game today."_

 _Of course she is. Her conversation — it was really more of a conflict — with the Library has been parading across her mind constantly for days now. The demigods are in trouble. The worst problems Medorans really seem to have is probably whatever Marcus Sparker stirs up. Alex scowls this time. "What's it to do with you?"_

 _"You don't have to tell me whatever's going on. I'm just checking if you're going to be okay." Kaiden has a fairly low voice, yet it's the sort that you'd shut up immediately for and start listening to. His similarities with Percy are so uncanny, it's not even amusing._

 _Then Alex's stomach clenches, with the memory of Annabeth through the Iris message. Her eyes glistening with restrained tears as she whispers about her boyfriend's disappearance. For weeks now, Alex has been quietly speculating what could have possibly happened to her favourite son of Poseidon. But nope, nothing._

 _"I'll be fine, Kaiden. Really truly. Thanks for asking."_

 _Despite that she managed to slide past his defences and send his staff to the sawdust of the arena floor with a soft thud, Kaiden smiles at her._

;;

"Yup, time to go home," announces Percy, slinging an arm around Annabeth and drawing her close. "Alex, do you mind …?"

"Not with this audience," huffs out Alex.

To her relief, her fellow demigods are immediately understanding. Frank bends down to hoist up Jason — of _course_ the son of Jupiter remains unconscious — and the lot of them begin to amble for a location with a little more privacy.

;;

 _"RUN!"_

 _Mentally thanking the dagger she's been carrying around for months now, Alex catches D.C.'s elbow. The redhead's eyes are wide with shock and former fear — it's still impossible to believe she's heir to the Medoran throne. A real-life princess. Alex begins to frantically drag her roommate away from the men that had dragged them into the depths of the Library._

 _Behind her, Aven is staggering around and cursing in what can only be the Meyarin dialect. Alex was surprised that the Celestial bronze had had any affect on him — but the handle is still embedded deeply in Aven's flesh, between his shoulder and collarbone. That wasn't the only injury Alex had given him — his face was shimmering with his strange silvery blood, from the deft lines Alex had cleaved across his face when she had first broken free of his revolting blood bond and launched herself at him._

 _They reach the end of the winding Library passageway, a perfectly safe distance from Aven and Gerald. Despite her frantic mind, Alex wills a doorway into existence. She all but shoves the princess through before she moves to follow. Just as Alex's foot is passing through, she hears a whistle of air, and —_

 _Aven's icy blue dagger slams into her back._

 _On the other side of the doorway, D.C. screams. Alex draws a breath — a single, rattling breath. Her back is on fire. She can't breathe. She can't think. The world flares to a hellfire of pain. Blotches dance before her vision and her knees buckle._

 _With hands that don't feel entirely attached to the rest of her, Alex's fumbling fingers grope at her back. She can feel something slick and warm, streaking out from the solid hilt of the dagger. The blade is up to its hilt in her. Alex almost faints from the realisation, but she forces herself to stay upright and conscious._

 _"Alex!" exclaims D.C., seizing Alex and yanking her through properly. Her surroundings spin lazily. The Library foyer, just as she was expecting. As soon as Aven's smug, bloody face is no longer in sight, Alex allows her body to give way._

 _"Oh my god!" The redhead dives to catch her. D.C.'s not strong enough, and she's badly shaken up herself, but she succeeds in preventing Alex's skull from making brutal contact with the cold stone tiles._

 _"Ambrosia," Alex rasps without thinking._

 _"It's okay, you stupid, reckless, amazingly brave idiot," D.C. soothes, then says some words that royal princesses really shouldn't have in their vocabulary. "Where's that stupid librarian? Help! Please, somebody call for Fletcher!"_

;;

Piper sidles up to her, bumping her hip against Alex's. "So, are you coming back to camp?"

Alex meets her kaleidoscope eyes uncertainly, gnawing thoughtfully on her bottom lip. "Honestly, Pipes? After pretending I'm not a demigod, I have zero idea what I'm doing."

"You should," the daughter of Aphrodite says softly. "Everyone misses you."

Alex smiles sadly. "Maybe I will, then."

;;

 _"So, they're saying you're the one who carried me up to Fletcher."_

 _Alex leans casually against one of the leather punching bags in the arena, hooking her fingers through its supporting chain for stability. Working away at the punching bag next to hers is Kaiden, slamming his fists into it. He must have been in here for a while now; his hair is messy and all over the place, and he's shed his shirt, his deliciously defined torso gleaming with sweat._

 _Oh, any daughter of Aphrodite would be having a field day right now, if they were in her shoes._

 _Kaiden slams his fists twice into the bag before answering. Most of his knuckles have split. "I'm always in the library foyer around then. I heard D.C. yelling for help and went to investigate."_

 _"You sound like you know her."_

 _He grins, but it's forced, thanks to him exerting himself. "Oh, we go way back."_

 _"What, did you date her?" Honestly, it wouldn't surprise her. There's enough irony amongst demigod relationships alone — Silena and Beckendorf, Percy and Annabeth._

 _Kaiden laughs. "Hell no. She scares me a little_ _ **too**_ _much. Nah, my family's associated with hers. But I'm assuming you know who she really is by now."_

 _"Found out about an hour before I got stabbed."_

 _The humour fades from Kaiden's face. His arms fall to his side and he steps away from the punching bag, moving closer to her. "Alex … how — how did that even happen in the first place?"_

 _Alex folds her arms, suddenly defensive. "It's a long story."_

 _"Well, go ahead."_

 _"It's a long story, Kaiden," she repeats shortly, and they both know that she's not going to tell him._

;;

 _Alex is welcomed back to camp by none other than Clarisse La Rue._

 _The daughter of Ares doesn't knock her unconscious this time. Instead, she scowls at Alex, punches her on the shoulder a lot harder than necessary, and unpleasantly mutters something about it was too much to hope that both she and Jackson would remain six feet under._

 _Alex grins. "Good to see you too, Clarisse."_

 _Clarisse's scowl only deepens. "Stop being so chirpy. We're about to enter a full-fledged war with Mother Earth here, and you're mad if you think you can back out of this."_

;;

 _Alex wonders what Jordan, Bear and D.C. would be doing in this current moment. Bear and Jordan are probably messing around in the forests out the back of Woodhaven. D.C.'s probably off carrying out her duties and whatever else princesses do in their summer holidays. She wonders how her friends would react, if they knew she was about to throw herself into a battle._

 _Then the contemplating flees her mind, as the roars of Gaia's forces rumble across Long Island. Alex draws her bronze blades, and joins the floods of Greek demigods charging to meet them._

;;

By this point, summoning a Library doorway into existence is all too effortless.

Jason, whose finally stirred awake but is still leaning groggily against Frank, shoots Alex a a hazy but curious look. His glasses are perched on his face rather crookedly. "Hey, Alex, does your dad's power extend to this sort of thing?"

"Oh, Jason." Alex gives him a wry look. "We all know _exactly_ what my dad's power extends to."

;;

 _A slim matter of days before the date Alex promised to return to Medora, she finds herself sitting at in the open-air amphitheatre amongst all the Greeks and Romans gathered around the blazing campfire._

 _At first, it had been startling to look and see purple amongst the customary orange t-shirts, hear words spoken in Latin as well as Ancient Greek across camp. With the Hermes cabin packed to the stuffing, Annabeth has completely discarded the rules and insisted Alex stay in the Athena cabin._

 _Alex had also met the rest of the demigods that had accompanied Annabeth and Percy on their quest to the Mediterranean above the Argo II. The other two Greeks were Piper McLean, a daughter of Aphrodite who completely defied the stereotype, and Leo Valdez, the son of Hephaestus who had been crowned a hero after sacrificing himself in the battle. The Romans were Jason Grace, a son of Jupiter, Zeus, whatever; Hazel Levesque, the daughter of Pluto, who was somehow Nico di Angelo's half-sister; and Frank Zhang, the new Roman praetor and a son of Mars, the counterpart for Ares, who was just as defiant of his cabin's stereotype as Piper was._

 _"Hey, Chiron!" called one of the Apollo campers. "Tell us a story!"_

 _The gathered Greeks and Romans immediately made sounds of encouragement and agreement. The smiling centaur slowly ambled forwards, directly where everyone could see him. His t-shirt announced_ _ **The Party Ponies**_ _._

 _Then his face began grave. "In respect for our fallen demigods, I will not speak of any of the myths that should concern them or their heritage. Instead, I shall speak of one of the stories as old as time, and yet, it is one that has almost been wiped away by the histories. And forgive me, Romans, but I shall use the Greek counterparts for efficiency. Please feel free to ask any of your Greek fellows if you feel unsure."_

 _The assembled campers had fallen silent. Piper's knee knocked against Alex's._

 _"In the beginning, there simply weren't three primary gods to begin with. There was a fourth. Zeus, Poseidon —" Alex glanced at a certain Percy Jackson, sitting a few campers away, entwined closely with Annabeth. "— Hades, and their brother — Lorcain."_

 _Alex had never once heard of Lorcain, and that was saying something._

 _"Whilst Zeus ruled over Olympus and the sky, Poseidon the sea, and Hades the Underworld, Lorcain's domain was more powerful than even his brethren could comprehend: reality."_

 _The amphitheatre had gone so quiet, the only sounds apart from the tale flowing from Chiron's mouth was the spits and crackles of the bonfire, which had now wilted a little without the Hestia kids tending to it._

 _"Lorcain was powerful beyond belief. He could manipulate anything. Of course, with such vast power, even a god needed to rest. Beyond envious of his brother's power, and fearing he would lose his throne over Olympus, Zeus waited until Lorcain was resting after a decade of warping reality. Zeus bound Lorcain and prepared to finish him when his daughter, Athena, appealed to her father."_

 _Alex could practically taste a shift in the air as the Athena kids shared smug, prideful smiles._

 _"Athena reasoned that by destroying its god, reality as they knew it would never be the same. Zeus instead exiled Lorcain to an entirely different realm." Chiron paused gravely for a long moment. "Ever since, next to nothing else has been heard of. But I have heard whispers that Lorcain's realm is now one quite similar to our own."_

 _"Does he have power there?" yelled a Roman kid. Alex couldn't distinguish who their godly parent was._

 _"I would assume so," Chiron nodded. "But there is no knowing, whether or not Lorcain's influence spreads to his new world. The world of Medora."_

;;

One by one, the demigods step through the doorway, until Alex is the only one left. Just as she is about to follow through, she hears footfalls. And then a voice.

"Hold up, Jennings."

Alex turns to meet the cool blue eyes belonging to Jeera James. The young Warden approaches steadily towards her, her face set with determination, a purposeful grace in her stride. "Jeera? What's up?"

Jeera's gaze locks onto hers. After a long moment, she whispers, "I'd watch out for yourself, Alex. Advisor Jaxon wants to conduct a blood test on you."

;;

 _Standing in a royal Medoran ballroom just days after the battle with Gaia, it feels utterly unreal. Like she's in a dream._

 _Alex picks at her emerald green gown, waiting for D.C. to show up. The ADHD's really not making it any easier. It's literally the second time in her life she's ever worn a dress — the first was when she wore Dorothy's lovely sky-blue one to that New Year's Eve Gala at Chateau Shontelle. Her legs feel rather bare, like she's skinny dipping in icy cold water (and yes, Alex has done that)._

 _"Hi, stranger," says a low, familiar voice, the owner suddenly having appeared at her side and leaned close to her ear._

 _Alex's neck turns so quickly it cracks. "Kaiden? What in Hades are you doing here?"_

 _She winces at the use of demigod-terminology, but Kaiden either doesn't notice or misheard her. His blue eyes sparkle mischievously at her. "Didn't I once tell you that D.C. and I go way back?"_

 _"Oh, yeah — in the arena."_

 _"Well, that's not vague at all. Like we're not in the same Combat class or anything."_

 _Alex can't help but laugh lightly at his dry humour. She hasn't laughed properly in days. Gaia was defeated — what, a week ago? And with so many demigods dead at the cruel hands of war …_

 _"You okay?" Kaiden asks worriedly._

 _Alex shakes her head. "Yeah, sorry. Just … blanked out. I had an absolutely insane summer. Like, mega-mega-insane."_

 _He chuckles. "Sure you're okay?"_

 _"Yeah. Why?"_

 _Kaiden only gives her what can only a nervous grin, as he steps close. "Tell me, Alex, have you ever danced?"_

;;

 _"So, how's the world of demigods, now that Gaia's gone?" Alex asks Annabeth through yet another Iris Message._

 _The daughter of Athena, having returned to live with her dad in San Francisco for what remains of high school, is currently lounging on a bed in a fairly mundane bedroom. "You won't believe it. Turns out Leo's alive."_

 _"What?!" Alex exclaims._

 _"I know. He took the physician's cure and arrived … oh, about three weeks after you went back to Medora." Annabeth frowns. "Do you really believe that that's the world Lorcain watches over? From what Chiron told us?"_

 _Alex shakes her head. "Nil. Medorans don't seem to know a lick of any sort of mythology — apart from their own, and that involves an entirely different sort of immortals."_

 _"Like the guy that stabbed you?"_

 _The brunette winces at the memory. "Yeah, him."_

 _Annabeth inspects something on the screen of her laptop, but it's a casual motive, meant to distract Alex when she speaks. "Heard from him lately?"_

 _"Aven?" Alex grimaces, recalling her unpleasant encounter with him the morning after D.C.'s birthday party. "Unfortunately."_

 _"Just putting it out there, but just saying, if you ever need some demigod manpower, you've got at least a whole camp at your disposal," Annabeth says, but she's not joking in the slightest._

;;

Camp Half-Blood is a sight for sore eyes.

It's early morning when the Library doorway deposits them on Half-Blood Hill, the bleak sunlight steadily creeping over the camp. Alex finds herself blinking away the moisture that's suddenly forming under her eyes. She really _has_ missed this place.

"Come on," orders Annabeth, jostling the group forwards. "Chiron will be expecting us."

;;

 _It's not until after that stunt with Pipsqueak over the ravine does Alex mentally hyperventilate, fearing she's given away that she's not entirely human._

 _Only years and years of intensive demigod training had allowed her to pull off such a thing in the first place: no human female could have possibly accomplished that sort of a feat. But her SAS classmates don't seem to be speculating how Alex pulled it off, physically speaking — they're all just relieved that the two girls are safe, as well as seriously impressed._

 _"You okay?" Kaiden asks quietly, coming to a stop besides her and squeezing one of her aching shoulders. Alex internally winces: she'd love some nectar for a refreshing pepper-up, but her limited stash is concealed safely back in her dorm, amongst her tampon supply, in the hope D.C. can't come across it there. "That was some serious strain you took out there. Do you need anything?"_

 _Alex notices Skyla frowning at her, before flouncing away. She conceals a laugh. Skyla really is an Aphrodite daughter at heart — one of the frilly, shallow ones, not the total dark horse spunks like Piper. Then she musters a smile and looks at Kaiden. "Really, Kaid? First Jordan and now you?"_

 _He chuckles. "Give us a little leeway, Alex. But I promise not to try and suffocate you — sorry,_ _ **hug you very tightly**_ _— like he did."_

 _To Alex's surprise, she feels a tiny flash of shrinking disappointment that Kaiden won't be embracing her anytime soon._

;;

After speaking to Chiron — it would have been a lot more pleasant, if Mr D. wasn't present — she feels a hand clap her on the shoulder.

"Come on, Alex," says Percy. They've never been as close as they were individually with Annabeth, but with their sarcastic personalities and reckless inclinations, they get along like a house on fire. "You look dead on your feet. I'll drag you to my mom's if I have to."

Despite the nodding and murmurs of agreement from behind her, Alex blinks up at him stupidly. "Why your mom's?"

"Well, you don't exactly have a cabin here, do you?"

Alex nods, resigned. But then again, the prospect of soon seeing Sally Jackson is absolutely thrilling.

;;

 _Aven is snarling like a hellhound at her when they encounter one another in Sir Oswald's ballroom. Evidently, Celestial bronze leaves a mark on Meyarins — four thin, jagged white scars criss cross themselves over his golden face. The fault on his once flawlessly gorgeous face satisfies her to no end._

 _"Hello, Aven," she simpers, idly spinning another bronze knife behind her back._

;;

 _White-hot anger is coursing through Alex like pounding adrenaline. At some point, Aven had managed to get his filthy hands on Jordan, Marcus Sparker offering him up like the human sacrifices in the myths. Only this time, there had been no god to take pity on Jordan and save him from his fate._

 _Standing in the snow, with A'enara blazing in one hand and the other fingers resting on one of her Celestial bronze blades sheathed at her hip. "I'm not fighting Jordan."_

 _But Aven only grins wickedly, and gives Jordan the order to kill._

 _D.C. screams — her name, Jordan's name, maybe she's cursing Aven — as Jordan woodenly draws a weapon, his movements precise but puppetlike, but Alex blocks out D.C.'s cries, channelling her focus on the anticipating fight. She bobs up and down on her tiptoes as the ADHD kicks in, waiting for him to turn invisible._

 _She's fought Annabeth when she's wearing her invisibility cap countless times before. She can take on Jordan too._

 _"You're not a demigod for nothing," she whispers minutely to herself, barely even a twitch of her lips, as Jordan slides into his invisible form._

;;

The next hour or so passes like a blur. She changes out of her battle armour into an orange CHB shirt and a pair of black leggings. Piper pushes a Thermos into her hands, a concoction of nectar watered down with strong black coffee. Alex even says hello to some of her demigod friends, the ones from other cabins, before she's loaded into the backseat of a car with Percy and Annabeth.

"No making out," she tells them, but the feeble joke is only half-hearted.

Because all of a sudden, Alex feels utterly hollow.

;;

 _Having used a garden hose and Evie Ronnigan's little mirror as her utensils, Alex sets to work in harnessing a rainbow, hiding out of sight in the Ronnigans' back garden._

 _"O, Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Perseus Jackson. You know exactly who I'm talking about, and anyway, I forgot his address."_

 _To make up for her rudeness, Alex tosses in an additional two drachmas into the rainbow. After a long, reluctant moment, the goddess opens up one of her shimmering portals — to show the legendary son of Poseidon, sprawled out over his bed, drooling over his pillow._

 _"JACKSON!"_

 _Starting awake, Percy jerks upright, announcing some choice words in Ancient Greek. Looking around wildly for a moment, his eyes settle on her — distastefully so. He's probably disgruntled she woke him up._

 _"Whaaaaaaat," he whines, rubbing the sleep from his eyes._

 _"I have a favour," Alex insists._

 _"Come back later."_

 _"Too bad. I had to use three drachmas on this, so you can do me the curtesy of slapping yourself awake and listening to what I have to say."_

 _"Why don't —" Percy pauses to yawn widely, stretching out his arms. "— you go pester Annabeth?"_

 _"Because what I'm thinking is something very stupid and very reckless that she'd surely put her foot down to, if I went to her first."_

 _Percy suddenly grins at this, meeting her eyes challengingly. "Go on."_

 _"Well," Alex clears her throat. "A friend of mine's in trouble. This is what I've come up with …"_

;;

 _Niyx's eyes narrow suspiciously at hers. "I can feel your blood in my veins," he accuses, his amethyst eyes shadowed and menacing. "Only, it feels … peculiar. Not entirely what mortal blood should feel like."_

 _"What, so you've felt mortal blood in your circulatory system before?" Alex snaps, her breathing suddenly jagged and restricted._

 _"No, Aeylia," Niyx retaliates harshly. "Whatever it is in your blood, it is … ancient. And very, very powerful. And there's a lot of it. Who were your parents?"_

 _Alex swallows thickly. "I never knew either of them."_

 _Niyx's face hardens. "Correction: what were your parents?"_

 _"I —"_

 _"Tell me, Aeylia!" Niyx roars, which seems to rattle the Silverwood around them. "If you are so possibly foolish enough to bind my life to yours, then I should deserve to know exactly what sort of a being it is that I am bonded to!"_

 _"Niyx, please!"_

 _"TELL ME!"_

 _Suddenly Alex can hear herself from all those months ago, screeching at a sentient Library. Demanding answers. Repeating that very same thing. Something opens up in her chest. She tentatively takes a step towards him, deliberating exactly what to say. Whether or not to trust him with her deepest, most precious, most hidden secret._

 _"Aeylia," rasps Niyx pleadingly._

 _Softly, oh so softly, Alex forces the fateful words from thoughts to verbal. The words seem to catch on her tongue, as if still trying to cling inside her, as if still trying to hide her secret._

 _"I'm a demigod, Niyx."_

;;

Her throat feels like sandpaper, like it always does after she's lied. She's always been rubbish at that. Alex gazes out of the car window, watching the pines of Long Island slowly melt in a filthy big city.

She lied to the Medorans about her birth, letting them think she was just a normal mortal. A mortal, who by absolute chance, had a gift of willpower and connections with the children of Freyan gods. She's fooled them into thinking her powers are really just an aspect of her gift — and as long as nobody wheedles it out of Athora, that assumption is secure.

Really, it's no wonder the royal Advisor is so suspicious.

;;

 _The academy campus is quiet. Too quiet._

 _"Something's wrong," Alex concludes aloud, as she and Jordan make their way from the Library foyer and across the icy courtyard. "C'mon, Sparky. We'd better investigate."_

 _Jordan swallows visibly. "We don't need to. Aven would have gone straight for here as soon as he had Meya in his claws."_

 _Alex curses colourfully under her breath. Her hand slides to rest on the supple leather handle of one of her Celestial bronze dagger. A'enara may be one hell of a weapon, but she's best with twin blades. Always has been. Ever since Luke began training her to do so._

 _Alex shoves away thoughts of Luke and focuses on the task at hand. Footfalls and skid marks parade over the frozen cobblestones — like there was people running around madly, until telekinetic bindings seized them. The skids all seem to follow into the food court, and she points this out to Jordan._

 _Jordan nods grimly. "Let's go."_

 _Then they burst into the food court, seeing exactly what they've been dreading._

 _In the space of about four heartbeats, Alex takes in endless Garseth, a couple of Aven's gifted Claimlings, and the population of Akarnae, all lined up in neat rows. Aven is standing close to Darrius, and as soon as his gaze falls on her, the Meyarin's face becomes beyond livid. Then, with a sarcastic cry of, "Aw, come on!", Jordan is hoisted up into the air and delivered neatly to their gifted fellows, pinned down in place._

 _Alex forces herself to stay calm. She's a demigod. A daughter of a literal god. Her blood is more mighty than even Aven expects, especially with his mixed in there as well. She's had more training than anyone else in this room. She's probably more powerful._

 _She tosses her head back and addresses Aven in a drawl. "Well, well, well. It appears you couldn't_ _ **wait**_ _to get your hands dirty."_

 _"Kill her!" thunders Aven._

 _Just as she was hoping, the Garseth snatch up their weapons and begin to charge, snarling and growling like a pack of hellhounds. Alex sighs to herself when she realises she'll have an audience. But oh well. Demigods are used to this sort of thing, publicly taking on monsters and sometimes each other. It's high time she experienced it for herself._

 _She draws A'enara, listening to the stunned gasps as the blade flares to life in a dance of blazing starfire. Smiling darkly to herself, she waits for the Garseth. After all, she's trained to kill monsters for years. These Meyarin brutes can't really be all that different._

 _These guys really have no chance._

;;

 _Godly power is radiating from Alex._

 _Of course, her Medoran audience doesn't know that. They all think it's some freakish element of her gift. It's beyond anything Alex has ever experienced — power that no mortal should possess, so mighty that it actually emits from her. She can feel it thundering through her veins — fire dancing with ice, light colliding with dark, death entwining with life._

 _Alex slowly raises her palm, and the power explodes from her. The world twists, literally, as if spiralling down an endless, ridiculously oversized kaleidoscope. The telekinetic bonds pinning down the academy population are lifted. Aven's minions stagger back. When they try to summon the Valispath, it only collapses to the near-dreamscape like powdered glass. Vivid colours scream at her vision. The power roars in her ears like the mightiest wind._

 _ **Will-bending**_ _, she hears one person whisper fearfully. But that person is very much mistaken._

;;

"You all good, Alex?" Annabeth asks from the front. Alex tears her gaze from the window to meet Annabeth's in the rear vision mirror.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired."

Percy chuckles sympathetically. "No kidding. I've never seen you use so much of your dad's power before."

"I think I'm going to take a week-long nap," Alex deadpans. She has the feeling she could actually accomplish that. She rubs at her eyes wearily. "Hey, d'you think Chiron would let me stay at camp for a bit?"

Annabeth's eyes narrow. "What about Medora?"

"What about it?"

"Are you … are you ever heading back there?"

;;

 _It's not the endless speculating whispers about her that have sent Alex running back to Freya. It's the realisation of who her godly parent is._

 _Since it's still the winter break, Camp Half-Blood is alive with Greeks, all celebrating the festivities, despite that it's completely disrespectful to their parents. The gods don't seem to mind that much, as long as there's nothing specifically religious and they receive generous donations of the gorgeous Christmas hams._

 _"Wassup, Alex!" greets Leo Valdez, grinning cheerfully. Then, seeing her distress, his brows knit in concern. "Everything okay, AJ?"_

 _"I'm fine," Alex pants, and shoves him aside._

 _She finds Chiron on one of the verandahs lining the Big House. Thankfully, Mr D is not present. The centaur is embossed in some old tomb, compiled of every myth there is about — Lorcain. The reality god that Zeus dismissed from this realm._

 _Her breath catches in her throat._

 _She doesn't bother with a polite greeting or small talk. Instead, she addresses Chiron rather bluntly, "You know whose daughter I am."_

 _Chiron doesn't look surprised in the slightest by her presence, as he carefully closes the book and raises his eyes to hers. His face is thoughtful. "I never allowed you to leave Camp for a good reason, Alex. You have a scent even stronger than Percy's — a monster would have sought you out within hours, perhaps even minutes."_

 _"Is that why you never let me up to Olympus on those excursions? Why I remained unclaimed, after all these years?"_

 _The centaur nods. "Zeus would have incinerated you on the spot, for being Lorcain's daughter. Keeping you here meant keeping you undetected, from both monsters and the gods. Your father never sired you, because he simply could not. He has no influence in this realm. I have no idea how he succeeded in transferring you to this domain."_

 _"I used his power the other day," Alex admits shakily. "An enemy had infiltrated the academy. I manipulated reality to get them out."_

 _"That is admirable. I'm assuming Lorcain would only grant you short bursts of power — either so it would not overcome your mortal body with the sheer power, or before you could cause anything irrevocably destructive."_

 _"How powerful really am I?"_

 _Chiron shakes his head. "Your power is as good as limitless, Alex. You must wield it carefully. Or … you could destroy your own father's world. Medora."_

;;

It feels like she's repeating herself, over and over.

She had said 'I don't know' when D.C. asked where she'll go when this war is over.

She had said 'I don't know' when Kaiden asked what it was that was between them, and was it really worth it.

She had said 'I don't know' when Queen Osmada tentatively asked if there would be any Freyans that would agree to assisting Medora take down Aven, once and for all.

She had said 'I don't know' if Piper and Annabeth asked if she'd remain in the demigod world.

Uncertainty. It's the one thing that Alex has known the longest.

;;

 _Darrius tells Alex that the King and Queen of Medora, D.C.'s parents, have ordered her to explain exactly who she is and how she has involved herself with Aven Dalmarta._

 _D.C. insists that they just need to see exactly who she is for themselves. She promises that Alex isn't going to get jailed or executed or the like. Over and over, the redhead tries her very hardest to soothe the anxiety knotting itself in Alex's stomach._

 _Alex is just crossing her fingers that they don't ask her about the reality-warping as well._

;;

 _"Don't blame yourself for trying," Kaiden says quietly to her._

 _He'd found her in a clearing in the Ezera forest, swearing her ass off (in Greek, but he's thankfully dismissed it) and stomping around and trying not to scream with frustration. He'd maintained physical distance between them — likely sensing she'd use him as a human punching bag if he came too close for comfort — and watched her with calm eyes._

 _How he wasn't turning his back on her like everyone else seemed to, Alex had no idea. After demonstrating her terrifying ability to warp reality, most people had avoided her like she was the Black Plague. Then, when it had spread that she was of Freyan birth, everyone seemed to be swarming her with prodding questions once more. And once again — she was abandoned. Her friends are all at Woodhaven, but Alex hasn't followed them. She'd barely been able to so much as glance at Bear, without choking on the overwhelming guilt that is consuming her, bit by bit._

 _"I didn't try hard enough," Alex mutters, and swears loudly when her foot catches on a stray log. She wipes furiously at the tears swimming in her eyes._

 _"Hey. Don't say that," Kaiden says sharply. "You tried your best Alex, you wouldn't have done anything less. Everyone who entered that battle at Graevale knew what they were getting themselves into."_

 _Like Niyx, Alex thinks, and suddenly it feels like she'd been slammed by a catapult. Suddenly winded and sucking in breaths of air that don't seem enough, she crumbles onto one of the mossy logs in the clearing — not the one she swore at — and curls up into a ball, protecting herself._

 _She hears footfalls crunch across the clearing and the squeal of rotting wood as Kaiden sits down on the log beside her, drawing her into his arms. One hand rubs soothing circles into the small of her back, the other gently threading through her hair. Nobody's ever held her like this before, so protectively and yet so gently, with the firmness of somebody that genuinely cares about you, and for that she leans into him._

 _Alex rests her cheek on his chest. "It's my fault this whole mess with Aven happened in the first place."_

 _"That's bull, Alex."_

 _"You don't know anything!" she retorts hotly._

 _"Maybe not. But I know enough." Kaiden's hand fits under her chin and wraps around her jaw, tilting her gaze up to his. His thumb strokes over her cheek as he continues fiercely. "You can't blame yourself for something that's been brewing for centuries. Whatever Aven's reasons are for despising mortals, it is far from your fault. You did not make the decision to carry a pathetic vendetta for centuries. You did not make the decision to try and commit genocide. Whatever it is that you think you've done wrong, you're trying to make it right, and don't you dare doubt yourself."_

 _"Kaiden —" she begins to protest._

 _Instead his mouth finds hers, his warm lips fitting to hers perfectly. The tender yet demanding kiss steals away the rest of what she was about to say. His arms pull her closer as she rather shyly kisses him back, her hands smoothing over his shoulders. She's crying, Alex realises, the silent tears slipping down her cheeks, but she remains locked in the moment, hoping Kaiden will kiss away her doubts and her guilt and her grief._

 _It's only when he finally pulls away does Alex realise that a Medoran boy was her first kiss._

;;

Sally Jackson embraces Alex so tightly that a rib or two cracks.

"It's been a while since I've seen you around, Alex," Sally greets cheerfully, batting away Percy's hand when he attempts to steal one of the freshly baked blue chocolate chip cookies that were drawn out of the oven a matter of moments before their arrival. Sally Jackson was easily the first motherly figure Alex ever had in her life.

Alex smiles wearily. "My dad had a few surprises in store for me." she says evasively.

"Oh, you don't have to speak in riddles to me. Percy's told me everything." Sally says, fussing over a pot of steaming hot chocolate and dividing it between three mugs. Alex's mouth waters at the scent: Sally's mixed in all sorts of spices into the drink. Cinnamon is definitely one of them, but she's not sure about the rest. Cooking definitely has never been one of Alex's strong points.

"Medora was absolutely amazing," Annabeth says from a bar stool. "You should have seen the architecture in some of their palaces!"

Beside her, Percy groans as he accepts his mug of hot chocolate with a word of thanks. "Please, Wise Girl. Lay off the intellectual stuff until some of us can properly function again."

Alex heartily agrees with him.

;;

 _It was incredibly stupid and twice as risky, what Alex is about to carry out. But there are still some remaining things that she desperately seeks answers for._

 _Taking a fortifying breath, Alex runs her hands over her figure once more. She wears slim combat trousers, boots, fingerless gloves and a fitted parka. She'd dug out her camp necklace, the beads bumping at her collarbone a forgotten comfort. Her bronze blades are strapped securely at her hips, and the inside pocket of her parka holds a narrow flask of ambrosia._

 _She closes her eyes. "Here goes nothing," she whispers to herself, before summons the godly power that hummed through her veins._

 _The air around her shifts dramatically. Her blood roars in her ears. Her fingers tremble with the power rapidly building up inside her. More of her power seeps out of her pores, filling the surrounding the air with it. She feels a force tugging at her — trying to drag her into the portal Alex has summoned._

 _Alex steps into the Abyss of Reality._

;;

 _Alex isn't sure how long she'd been in the Abyss for. Perhaps a matter of seconds; perhaps hours. Here, it is a dreamscape that has collided with what Alex knows as reality. One heartbeat, Alex is wandering through galaxies, the light years flickering past like a polaroid camera. The next, she is dancing across a long mahogany table laid with an elegant tea party. Then, she is standing in the middle of a Spartan battle, only the legendary Greek warriors are slamming themselves against an armada of brilliantly multicoloured Pac-Men._

 _Alex thrusts out her palm, summoning a doorway into existence. A huge, rusting old crane opens its entrance door invitingly. When she folds herself through the crane's doorway, then suddenly sliding down a tunnelled water slide, she finds herself spat out into — a throne room._

 _A god sits upon a throne that changed form the longer Alex looks at it. One moment, it is a goggly-eyed plastic sea horse, the sort that little kids bounced around on at amusement park rides. Then it melts into festering heap of corpses. And then it is a —_

 _Alex forces her gaze up to her father's._

 _It is very difficult to do so, literally looking at him. There is a bizarre haze clouding Lorcain; even though he resembles the form of a god, his exterior seemed to tremble and waver, like he is encased in his own ghost. Like his brethren, Lorcain possesses pitch-black hair. His features are chiselled and handsome, yet there is a calm wisdom about him. His eyes seem to continually change colour: green, to grey, to blue, to black. Just like almost everything, his clothes continue to flicker — a tuxedo with a periwinkle waistcoat, flowing robes that explode with storm clouds, a maroon Shakespearian style outfit._

 _"I almost thought you were your dear mother, for a moment there," rumbles Lorcain. He sounds awfully similar to two of his brothers, Hades and Poseidon. He reclines back into his throne, regarding her with a mixture of bemusement and resolve._

 _Alex swallows away the curiosity that comes with the mention of her mother. "Are you who I think you are?"_

 _Lorcain smiles. "Is that really the first words you shall have ever spoken to your own father?"_

 _Alex's knees buckle. It really is true; there's absolutely no denying it now. Her father truly is Lorcain, the outcasted god of reality. She draws a steadying breath. "If you know me, then you'd know I don't have much of a filter."_

 _"Fortunately, I do, Alex," Lorcain responds, and it's the casual use of her nickname that sends chills spidering down Alex's spine. "I have watched over you, all these years."_

 _"What about my mother?"_

 _A sad smile enters Lorcain's face, giving Alex the impression that unlike most other gods, her father truly did love her mother. "She passed during your birth. Carrying you alone, a child of reality, placed a strain on her no mortal should ever experience. And childbirth … was a little too much," he finishes regretfully._

 _"Why did you send me to Freya?"_

 _"You needed to be amongst other demigods. There are none others here," Lorcain says. His voice is deep, calm and patient, soothing on Alex's ears. For such an impossibly powerful being, he could just as well as be the god of peace. "And I believed you needed to find your own way to Medora."_

 _"Father," Alex implores. The word feels foreign on her tongue. "I have a lot of questions. More than I can even be bothered to count."_

 _"Then ask away, my daughter. In my realm, we have all the time in the world."_

;;

A few days later, Alex finds herself standing on Half-Blood Hill, leaning against Thalia's Tree. A brisk wind snaps at her, as she quietly watches a bunch of younger campers chasing each other across the grass, brandishing wooden practise swords and shrieking with maniacal laughter.

She's donned standard mortal clothes — a black jacket over a white tee, khaki jeans with tears in them, Converse high-tops. The only indication of exactly who she is, are the brightly painted beads resting at her collarbone. Slung over her shoulder is a worn duffel bag. Her chestnut hair is braided over one shoulder and her eyes have glazed absently, having lost herself in thought.

She's done a lot of good things in the demigod world. She's also done a lot of bad things. Same goes with the Medoran realm — her banished father's realm. Here, she is not safe. It's only before Zeus learns who she is, who she is the child of, and seeks to destroy her. In Medora, what can they offer that is worse than that? People finding out she's actually a demigod?

The decision should be instantaneous. Instead, it's one that's been marching through her mind for days, and all the while has remained unanswered.

Alex hears crunching footfalls behind her, and turns to find Nico di Angelo stalking up the frosty hill towards her. The son of Hades has his aviator jacket zipped up to his throat, the dark rims under his eyes less pronounced than usual.

"Made up your mind?" he asks.

In response, Alex shakes her head.

;;

 _Lorcain extends an arm towards her, and Alex closes her eyes as his fingers brush over her forehead with a tenderness gods really shouldn't possess. Where his fingertips make contact with her skin, she can feel his power ripple through her, threading through her inch by inch. His power is something vast and ancient, so mighty it is beyond description._

 _He traces something over her forehead — a symbol. A token. Alex opens her eyes to find gentle light spilling from her forehead, and takes a startled step back._

 _Lorcain chuckles. "Be at ease, my daughter. Think of this as my blessing. It will grant you enough glorious power to triumph over Aven Dalmarta." But then his face becomes grave. "But there is a limit to how much you warp reality. Our power is far from something to fool around with. When you next face Aven on the battlefield, it is vital for you to have your companions with you, for when my blessing becomes no more, you will be lesser than even the weakest of demigods."_

 _"I'm not taking my friends into battle," Alex says fiercely, thinking of Bear witnessing William's grisly end._

 _"I am not referring to your Medoran friends — Jordan, Delucia, Barnold," reasons Lorcain. "No, my daughter, it is time for you to call upon the place dearest to you."_

 _Alex's mouth falls softly open. "Camp Half-Blood." She pauses. "How many demigods should I bring?"_

 _"You shall summon them," Lorcain answers. "After all, you are the daughter of reality. Shall I supplement your power, you can call upon a certain amount of demigods to enter this world, using an ancient ritual."_

 _"That sounds pretty satanic," Alex mutters._

 _Lorcain laughs. "No, my daughter. It is the rightful path for somebody with the ability to warp reality."_

;;

Inevitably, the person Alex confesses to is Annabeth.

She finds the blonde on the camp docks, sitting cross-legged in the sunlight and laughing at her boyfriend's antics as he messes around with a couple of the younger campers, out in the middle of the lake. Having heard the creaking timber accompanying Alex's footfalls, Annabeth pivots around to face her and beams at her. "Hey."

"Hey, yourself." Suddenly it feels like Alex has swallowed a bucketful of dry, grainy sand. She tentatively sits down besides the daughter of Athena, who notices her packed duffel bag with narrowed eyes.

"Where do you think you're going, Alex?"

Alex takes a fortifying breath. "Exactly where you think I'm going, Chase."

For a long moment, her words hang heavily in the air. Annabeth's mood has decreased drastically: Alex isn't the only one whose eyes are brimming with unexpected tears. Then Annabeth releases a sound that's between a reluctant laugh and a choked sob, and throws herself into Alex's arms.

"You can't be serious. You're a demigod! This is where you belong!"

"What, the daughter of an outcasted god?" Alex responds as wryly as she can, but her humour flops miserably. She sits back with glassy eyes and a meek expression. "I'm sorry, Annabeth. I really am. But …"

"But what?" Annabeth makes a frustrated sound. "You've managed to hide yourself from the gods after all these years! Why not stick it out?"

"But that's not the way I want to live, and you know it! You wouldn't want to live like that," Alex points out. She catches the blonde's hands and yanks insistently. " _Please_ , Chase, listen to me."

Her eyes gleaming with angry tears. "You're my longest best friend, who's either not dead or doomed for immortality," Annabeth chokes out, and Alex blinks away another wave of tears as the realisation hits her for exactly why her best friend is resisting so furiously.

"You'll always be my best friend, you stupid idiot. Doesn't matter if I'm in Medora or here, or if I'm a daughter of Lorcain or, I don't know, Apollo. It's just …" Alex trails off uncertainly, biting down on her bottom lip. "I … I really am supposed to be in Medora. It's my father's realm. I can have a new start, and not have to fear Zeus or hoards of monsters. I'll be _normal_ , Annabeth. I can find my own way in the world — well, _a_ world."

"I can't stand the thought of never seeing you again," Annabeth croaks.

"I'll come back and visit," Alex promises. "Medora may be my new home, but Camp Half-Blood will always be my first."

Annabeth ducks her head and stares at the lake's rippling surface for a long moment, before raising her chin and looking at Alex. Her resolve is slowly rebuilding itself. "Are you sure you're going to be happy there?"

Alex nods. "Positive."

Then Annabeth throws her arms around her, in the last hug Alex will ever receive from her for a long time.

;;

 _A sealed glass jar of sea water. The brittle skull of some bizarre Medoran creature. An eagle's feather. A newly purchased makeup palette. A heavy old book on various Freyan mythologies. A huge, gleaming ruby that catches the muted grey light. A barbed spearhead with dried blood still crusted on it. A sheet of Celestial bronze._

 _The various eight items are placed in an octagon, connected by finely poured trails of ambrosia. Alex stands in the very centre of the octagon, wearing loose white hessian clothes. Some short distance away, Soraya is prowling around uncertainly, but refusing to stray off guard._

 _Alex doesn't need her father's incantations in writing. They had branded themselves permanently in her mind when he instructed her of them, as well as the rest of the ritual's requirements. Thankfully, there's no need for anything further than the incantation, the ambrosia, the objects, and the fact it has to be performed on the very peak of dawn._

 _"Tell me when it's time," she whispers to Soraya. Reluctantly, the Shadow Wolf skulks up to a higher viewpoint, so she can observe the exact moment of daybreak._

 _ **Are you sure this is necessary?**_ _Xiraxus's voice intrudes on Alex's thoughts._

 _ **Xira**_ _, she frowns mentally at him._ _ **I know what I'm doing.**_

 _ **Well, couldn't you have just gone back to Freya to retrieve them?**_ _Xiraxus persists._

 _It was what my father told me to do, Alex tells him, before Soraya releases a howl that cleaves through the otherwise silent, wintry night. The signal to begin._

 _She recites the incantation in English, the common tongue, first, followed by Ancient Greek, and then Latin. As Alex's chanting voice rings around the clearing, she can feel the shift in the air, stirring with her father's power. She embraces the same power, feeling it stampede through her veins, transforming her from mortal girl to a lethal being. Where the ambrosia had seeped into the grass, increasingly brightening light sings out of it like sunlight brimming through a split in the earth._

 _"I, Alexandra Rose Jennings of Freya, daughter of the god Lorcain, wield my affinity over reality. I wish to summon forth my demigod brethren._

 _"I summon forth the son of Poseidon, Perseus Jackson. I summon forth the daughter of Athena, Annabeth Chase. I summon forth the daughter of Aphrodite, Piper McLean. I summon forth the son of Hephaestus, Leo Valdez. I summon forth the son of Hades, Nico di Angelo. I summon forth the son of Jupiter, Jason Grace. I summon forth the daughter of Pluto, Hazel Levesque. I summon forth the son of Mars, Frank Zhang._

 _"With the mighty blessings of their respective parents, I request that these demigods are brought forth into this realm."_

 _It's rather a lengthy incantation, but Alex forces her voice to sound authoritative and confident as she chants, standing in the increasingly glowing light, her father's power snatching at her like ghostly hands of steel. The minutes trickle by. The sky is streaked with the pale greys of dawn._

 _It's only when Alex completes the Latin translations of the mighty incantation do the items begin to take shape, each exploding with light. Sea-green for Poseidon, silvery-grey for Athena, rose-gold for Aphrodite, bronze for Hephaestus, pitch-black for Hades, sky-blue for Jupiter, gold for Pluto, blood-red for Mars. The lights grow stronger and stronger, bigger and bigger._

 _Alex raises her palm, and summons her power to call forth the demigods into her realm._

 _They each appear in their respective orbs, suspended, spines arched and eyes closed peacefully. Only instead of their customary camp tees and jeans, each demigod is decked out in magnificent armoured outfits that perfectly represent their godly parents. She turns in a slow circle, allowing herself an appreciative smile at her work._

 _Then the light slowly fades and the demigods lower gently to the ground. Their eyes open, taking in their surroundings. Their mouths drop open as they are hit with the realisation of what exactly it is that Alex has just done._

 _Then a voice behind Alex: "Alexandra Jennings, you absolute idiot."_

 _Alex turns around and grins at the daughter of Athena, who can't help but smile back at the sight of her friend. "Just in time, Chase. We have an immortal bastard who needs defeating."_

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 **AAAAAAAAND that's a wrap. There were a few more plotholes in this one but to be honest, I couldn't be bothered to fix them. RIP. ANYWAY, tell me what you guys think of this, hope y'all enjoyed**


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